Android Instant Tethering Coming with Google Play Services 10.2

Google Play Services 10.2 is rolling out and it’s bringing an interesting, if not mostly gimmicky feature with it. The feature is called Instant Tethering.

Basically the way it works is simple. If there are two Android devices close enough to connect via Bluetooth on the same Google account, and one device loses connection, you will automatically see a pop up asking if you would like to tether to the other device that still has a connection.

As far as I can see, this will be rolling out to Nexus and Pixel devices first. Which means the number of people able to take advantage of this new feature will be about 8. But one can only assume that the feature will roll out to more devices as time passes.

It’s been a bit of a slow roll out. Having Google Play Services 10.2 won’t be enough, as the feature is a server-side activated, which means that you won’t see the feature until they flip a switch on their end, even if you have GPS 10.2.

To see if you have the feature available, go to Settings > Google and you should see an option for Instant Tethering.

If you don’t have GPS 10.2 yet, check the Google Play Store and see if there’s an update available. Also, you can grab it from APKMirror.

James is a guy who does things. Lots of things. Nothing weird, mostly computer things like blogging, web development, Netflix. He's a total Google fanboy, (despite Allo) and has been recognized as a Google Expert in Google's Chromebook Central product forum.